On Monday, July 29th, Maryland Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin presented a check for $75,000 during a visit to Rockville’s Sunflower Bakery, a full service bakery that enables pathways to employment for young adults and teens with learning differences through pre-employment exposure and workforce development training in Pastry Arts, Hospitality and related industries.
At the visit, Senators Van Hollen and Cardin toured the facility, participated in a baking demo with Phase 1 Pastry Arts students, and spoke to students, staff, and a selection of board members and elected officials. They presented the $75,000 check to Sunflower, awarded through federal appropriations. This support will help expand Sunflower’s employment training programs, allowing them to reach more students and offer additional training options.
“Sunflower Bakery is immensely grateful to Senators Van Hollen and Cardin for championing our mission to enable pathways to employment for young adults with learning differences, and for supporting programs that promote economic mobility and inclusion for the disability community. Funding through the appropriations process is not only a game changer for expanding our programs, but this funding also recognizes the importance of our work.” – Jody Tick, Executive Director
About Sunflower Bakery: Sunflower Bakery is the largest program in Maryland that trains young adults with learning differences for employment success in pastry arts, hospitality, and food-related industries. Sunflower’s workforce development training programs combine formal curriculum instruction with on-the-job training, job development, and job placement supervised by professional instructors and job coaches. Sunflower Bakery promotes workplace acceptance and inclusion by placing our well-trained graduates in local businesses and educating employers on the proven economic and social benefits of employing people with disabilities. This ultimately enables pathways to employment for a historically underserved population and increases their engagement in the economy and the community.
Photo courtesy Sunflower Bakery